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Shell-Shocked: On the Ground Under Israel's Gaza Assault
“Mohammed Omer could easily have escaped the horror of Israel’s impending assault on the trapped and helpless people of Gaza. Instead, he chose to stay, to record, in searing and vivid detail, the savagery of Israel’s latest escapade of 'mowing the lawn' and the steadfastness of the victims of a hideous tragedy. Few can match his courage and integrity, but all of us who live in countries providing the arms and diplomatic support that made Israel’s actions possible should ponder his words and ask ourselves what has been done in our name and what we should do about it.” —Noam Chomsky
Operation Protective Edge, launched in early July 2014, was the third major Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip in six years. It was also the most deadly. By the conclusion of hostilities some seven weeks later, 2,200 of Gaza’s population had been killed, and more than 10,000 injured.
In these pages, journalist Mohammed Omer, a resident of Gaza who lived through the terror of those days with his wife and then three-month-old son, provides a first-hand account of life on-the-ground during Israel’s assault. The images he records in this extraordinary chronicle are a literary equivalent of Goya’s “Disasters of War”: children’s corpses stuffed into vegetable refrigerators, pointlessly because the electricity is off; a family rushing out of their home after a phone call from the Israeli military informs them that the building will be obliterated by an F-16 missile in three minutes; donkeys machine-gunned by Israeli soldiers under instructions to shoot anything that moves; graveyards targeted with shells so that mourners can no longer tell where their relatives are buried; fishing boats ablaze in the harbor.
Throughout this carnage, Omer maintains the cool detachment of the professional journalist, determined to create a precise record of what is occurring in front of him. But between his lines the outrage boils, and we are left to wonder how a society such as Israel, widely-praised in the West as democratic and civilized, can visit such monstrosities on a trapped and helpless population.
Operation Protective Edge, launched in early July 2014, was the third major Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip in six years. It was also the most deadly. By the conclusion of hostilities some seven weeks later, 2,200 of Gaza’s population had been killed, and more than 10,000 injured.
In these pages, journalist Mohammed Omer, a resident of Gaza who lived through the terror of those days with his wife and then three-month-old son, provides a first-hand account of life on-the-ground during Israel’s assault. The images he records in this extraordinary chronicle are a literary equivalent of Goya’s “Disasters of War”: children’s corpses stuffed into vegetable refrigerators, pointlessly because the electricity is off; a family rushing out of their home after a phone call from the Israeli military informs them that the building will be obliterated by an F-16 missile in three minutes; donkeys machine-gunned by Israeli soldiers under instructions to shoot anything that moves; graveyards targeted with shells so that mourners can no longer tell where their relatives are buried; fishing boats ablaze in the harbor.
Throughout this carnage, Omer maintains the cool detachment of the professional journalist, determined to create a precise record of what is occurring in front of him. But between his lines the outrage boils, and we are left to wonder how a society such as Israel, widely-praised in the West as democratic and civilized, can visit such monstrosities on a trapped and helpless population.
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 12, 2018
If you want to know/understand Gaza, a must read
January 24, 2024
10 years later and it’s still the same shit going on
July 9, 2022
Eye-opening, chilling stories from the ground in Gaza, offering a close view of the harsh reality and daily hardship the people have had to endure during times of war. It's hard to believe such crimes have been committed openly and are not widely known. It was a slow read for me, because of the amount of suffering to be witnessed from just a handful of pages.
July 8, 2018
It's all too easy to shy away from bloody details. To maintain an intellectual distance from disasters while still condemning violence or extending sympathy. But that is not what is needed. Instead it is important to see the violence for what it is and to see the people the violence is visited upon as people.
This book is a series of reports. Actual journalistic reports made by Omer during the 2014 war on Gaza, dubbed Operation Protective Edge. Omer gathers multiple different perspectives from all kinds of ordinary people in Gaza to get a bleak picture of what life is like under Israeli occupation and bombing.
This is not an uplifting book. There is no happy ending. Though a shaky ceasefire is reached by the end of Omer's reports, there is little hope among the people he interviews that it will be honored. Considering the conflict began after Israel violated a prior ceasefire.
Currently, protests are taking place at the Gaza borders in response to continued blockades that prevent life in the strip to return to some kind of normalcy. Building materials are not allowed in, ruining hopes of rebuilding homes, schools, and hospitals. At the protests, civilians are shot dead by Israeli snipers.
The continued propaganda from Israel regarding all of this is quite disturbing. My wife and I watched the documentary Occupation of the American Mind, which details the immense campaign to spin Israeli war crimes and violence as necessary self-defense.
Though I have supported the Palestinian cause for several years I did not quite understand the realities of life for the people living under occupation. It is horrifying. And made more so by the public opinion that Israel is in the right. That using advanced tanks, drones, fighter jets, missiles, white phosphorous, and sniper bullets specifically designed to maim beyond repair against civilians, hospitals and schools is justified. How can that be? How is that justifiable?
Simply put, it isn't. But it will continue until public opinion shifts. And public opinion won't shift without books like this one being published and reaching the mainstream.
This book is a series of reports. Actual journalistic reports made by Omer during the 2014 war on Gaza, dubbed Operation Protective Edge. Omer gathers multiple different perspectives from all kinds of ordinary people in Gaza to get a bleak picture of what life is like under Israeli occupation and bombing.
This is not an uplifting book. There is no happy ending. Though a shaky ceasefire is reached by the end of Omer's reports, there is little hope among the people he interviews that it will be honored. Considering the conflict began after Israel violated a prior ceasefire.
Currently, protests are taking place at the Gaza borders in response to continued blockades that prevent life in the strip to return to some kind of normalcy. Building materials are not allowed in, ruining hopes of rebuilding homes, schools, and hospitals. At the protests, civilians are shot dead by Israeli snipers.
The continued propaganda from Israel regarding all of this is quite disturbing. My wife and I watched the documentary Occupation of the American Mind, which details the immense campaign to spin Israeli war crimes and violence as necessary self-defense.
Though I have supported the Palestinian cause for several years I did not quite understand the realities of life for the people living under occupation. It is horrifying. And made more so by the public opinion that Israel is in the right. That using advanced tanks, drones, fighter jets, missiles, white phosphorous, and sniper bullets specifically designed to maim beyond repair against civilians, hospitals and schools is justified. How can that be? How is that justifiable?
Simply put, it isn't. But it will continue until public opinion shifts. And public opinion won't shift without books like this one being published and reaching the mainstream.
April 8, 2023
Triggering. Reading this book was kind of difficult because it’s such a cruel situation that is happening right now and for years in the Gaza’s region. And it’s so sad that the society — especially the kids — have to live and suffer from this cruelty day by day and it’s something that has turned into their daily life.
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September 1, 2020I spent some time reading this book SHELL SHOCK-dispatches from a war..today. It is by Mohammed Omer, a Palestinian journalist.
It reports about the families on the Gaza Strip in a detached way. Quite a reality check.
Some responses of the populace there:
When my son screams
We don't even seem to have a right to exist or defend ourselves.
As civilian death toll rises in Gaza, Hamas sees growing local support. The more Israel strikes Gaza, the more Hamas regains popularity amongst locals, despite increasing attacks that they say target civilians.
Israeli psy-ops tactics, such as false air strike earnings and leaflet campaigns, have in this conflict been met by Hamas' own efforts in satellite TV and social media.
As Israel continues to pound the Gaza Strip, Palestinian children try to maintain a semblance of normalcy as they received their exam results.
Ninety percent darkness in Gaza.
Gaza's infrastructure in the verge of collapse.
Hundreds of families see refuge in Gaza's churches
" Only Stine's remain ": Gaza lies in ruins.
In Gaza, even the dead get no peace. My heart was burning when my son came early this morning to tell me Israeli F-16 had bombed the cemetery and Jami's grave is missing 😥
It reports about the families on the Gaza Strip in a detached way. Quite a reality check.
Some responses of the populace there:
When my son screams
We don't even seem to have a right to exist or defend ourselves.
As civilian death toll rises in Gaza, Hamas sees growing local support. The more Israel strikes Gaza, the more Hamas regains popularity amongst locals, despite increasing attacks that they say target civilians.
Israeli psy-ops tactics, such as false air strike earnings and leaflet campaigns, have in this conflict been met by Hamas' own efforts in satellite TV and social media.
As Israel continues to pound the Gaza Strip, Palestinian children try to maintain a semblance of normalcy as they received their exam results.
Ninety percent darkness in Gaza.
Gaza's infrastructure in the verge of collapse.
Hundreds of families see refuge in Gaza's churches
" Only Stine's remain ": Gaza lies in ruins.
In Gaza, even the dead get no peace. My heart was burning when my son came early this morning to tell me Israeli F-16 had bombed the cemetery and Jami's grave is missing 😥
June 28, 2024
A harrowing but necessary first-hand account of Israel's 2014 offensive against Gaza. I think this collection is really important for the way that it humanizes Gaza's population. Omer names each and every person he refers to and shares stories from their family. An instance of this that really stood out to me was when he was talking about the murder of an 8 year old boy (among others) by Israeli snipers, and how a member of his family shared that he was so excited to start school that he had already started packing his backpack. I think it's so easy to hear about the atrocities committed in Palestine and think about them in a distant, intellectualized way. But this book really brings you to the reality on the ground: the fact that these are people being killed, with complex lives and dreams and people who love them.
November 25, 2024
Mohammed Omer provides a chilling account of life in Gaza during Israel’s 2014 attack. He meets with families across Gaza who share intimate details of everyday life under israel’s assault, from getting food provisions and a couple of hours of electricity to trying to pass examination exams and break their fasts during Ramadan. It is a sobering read that warned us of what was to come— ten years later, things have only gotten worse.
The book is arranged in a series of short articles that are somewhat chronological, but could have benefitted from the addition of dates.
The book is arranged in a series of short articles that are somewhat chronological, but could have benefitted from the addition of dates.
July 7, 2021
A quick read of the first half in 2020 summer from a library book that my dad borrowed for me, should have read more carefully since it's so related to the Israel-Palestinian conflict that erupted a few months ago. The book wasn't really enjoyable, without any deep thinking. It only expressed one single message, how hard it was for people living in the Gaza strip to survive. It gives us stories of true lives and how they try to survive.
February 9, 2024
3.75/4
Audiobook is decent at increased speeds.
Informative but it reads like the Vietnam war listing of the soldiers who died over seas. Except it's children, paramedics, pregnant women, the elderly, teachers, the disabled, religious leaders, shop owners and fishermen doing business, mothers searching for missing family members, fathers trying to get safe passage for their family to UN shelters, UN workers... You read case after case after case that make your blood.
Audiobook is decent at increased speeds.
Informative but it reads like the Vietnam war listing of the soldiers who died over seas. Except it's children, paramedics, pregnant women, the elderly, teachers, the disabled, religious leaders, shop owners and fishermen doing business, mothers searching for missing family members, fathers trying to get safe passage for their family to UN shelters, UN workers... You read case after case after case that make your blood.
October 23, 2025
Awful tragic accounts of the Palestinians plight as Israel bombs the shit out of them. Innocent families are murdered and the economy is being destroyed. Just a hell on Earth for these poor Gaza dwellers.
January 26, 2026
Pretty damning set of reports on Palestine in 2015… unimaginable terror and to think it’s a small fraction of the genocide since 2023 is crazy. Maybe my ignorance but I was interested to read stories I hadn’t heard before, of Palestinians crossing the med in this period
April 19, 2024
The ongoing slaughter of a people by an occupation force and the strangulation of ofPalestinians by an Apartheid system all laid bare.
July 10, 2025
Y’all got me effed up if you think what Israel has been doing is warranted.
March 8, 2024
An essential read that teaches you that there is nothing new about Israel’s dehumanizing, ethnic cleansing and genocidal actions in Gaza— the many methods of murder and massacre, the lies and excuses, war crimes, bombing of hospitals and schools and purposeful targeting of civilians we see in today’s genocide — Israel has done all of this in Gaza before, and across Palestine for decades. The only new thing in today’s genocide, is the unparalleled scope.
February 7, 2017
I had read most of the articles from Mohammed during or after the 2014 Gaza war. This book provides a special insight by someone with a gifted pen, a neutral Gazan who knows how to grab the attention of western press and audience with captivating human stories of monstrosities on the trapped population of Gaza. Killings during the holy month of Ramadan, bombings of shelters and schools, the amazing work of rescuers, medical staff and humanitarians in the front lines - all recorded by the eye witness.
In the past 2,5 years I have lived and worked in Palestine, Mohammed has become one of my best friends. He has been a great help to achieve an acceptable knowledge of Gaza society, culture and politics in only a short time. This book gives a wide audience an accessible insight and personal account of the devastating war - that should never have happened, and certainly should never happen again.
In the past 2,5 years I have lived and worked in Palestine, Mohammed has become one of my best friends. He has been a great help to achieve an acceptable knowledge of Gaza society, culture and politics in only a short time. This book gives a wide audience an accessible insight and personal account of the devastating war - that should never have happened, and certainly should never happen again.
October 2, 2015
Heart-breaking, eye-opening, galvanising and utterly mesmerising.
Forget what you heard on the news or read in the papers, read the account of someone who not only spoke to those on the ground under Israel's vastly disproportionate onslaught on Gaza but who actually lived through it himself.
Forget what you heard on the news or read in the papers, read the account of someone who not only spoke to those on the ground under Israel's vastly disproportionate onslaught on Gaza but who actually lived through it himself.
October 12, 2016
Every single person should read this.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews